optic atrophy

optic atrophy

      degeneration of the optic nerve (the second cranial nerve) due to direct or indirect damage to a particular type of retinal (retina) cell, called ganglion cells, whose axonal (axon) projections collectively make up the optic nerve. The function of the optic nerve is to carry visual data from the retina of the eye (eye, human) to the lateral geniculate body (a relay station in the centre of the brain) for transmission to a cortical area at the back of the brain called the occipital cortex. Common causes of optic atrophy include glaucoma, tumours (tumour) that press on the optic nerve, vascular ( blood vessel) diseases, optic neuritis, trauma, and exposure to various drugs and toxins. The atrophy may be a hereditary defect, such as in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), which predominantly affects males between the ages of 15 and 25. There is sometimes recovery of vision in LHON, but it is rarely complete. Treatment of optic atrophy and degeneration is aimed at correcting the underlying condition to prevent further optic nerve damage.

Daniel M. Albert David M. Gamm
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Optic atrophy 1 — (autosomal dominant) Identifiers Symbols OPA1; FLJ12460; KIAA0567; MGM1; NPG; NTG; largeG External IDs …   Wikipedia

  • optic atrophy — n degeneration of the optic nerve * * * degeneration of the optic nerve. It may be secondary to disease within the eye or it may follow damage to the nerve itself resulting from injury or inflammation. It is visible as pallor of the optic nerve… …   Medical dictionary

  • Optic atrophy — Infobox Disease Name = PAGENAME Caption = The left optic nerve and the optic tracts. DiseasesDB = 9241 ICD10 = ICD10|H|47|2|h|46 ICD9 = ICD9|377.1 ICDO = OMIM = MedlinePlus = eMedicineSubj = eMedicineTopic = MeshID = D009896 Optic atrophy is the… …   Wikipedia

  • optic atrophy — degeneration of the optic nerve. It may be secondary to disease within the eye or it may follow damage to the nerve itself resulting from injury or inflammation. It is visible as pallor of the optic nerve as viewed inside the eye with an… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • optic atrophy — noun : degeneration of the optic nerve …   Useful english dictionary

  • primary optic atrophy — optic atrophy in which the optic disk is characterized by sharp margins, enlarged physiologic cup, enhanced visibility of the lamina cribrosa, and a white color. Severe primary optic atrophy secondary to multiple episodes of optic neuritis …   Medical dictionary

  • secondary optic atrophy — optic atrophy in which the optic disk is characterized by blurred margins, poor visibility of the lamina cribrosa, filling in of the physiologic cup, and gray white glial tissue on its surface and along its blood vessels; called also gray a …   Medical dictionary

  • Mental retardation with optic atrophy, deafness & seizures — A disorder first reported in 1999 by Gustavson and colleagues as a newly recognized X linked mental retardation syndrome. In the family they studied there were 7 male children in 2 generations with the syndrome. The affected males were… …   Medical dictionary

  • Leber hereditary optic atrophy — Leber optic atrophy see under neuropathy …   Medical dictionary

  • Optic neuropathy — Classification and external resources ICD 10 H46 The optic nerve contains axons of nerve cells that emerge from the retina, leave the eye at the optic disc, and go to the visual cortex where input from the eye is processed into vision. There are… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”